Michelle DaCruz
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 01/01) - After lobbying the Canadian Cancer Society to no avail, the Department of Health and Social Services is finally taking matters into their own hands and publishing the first of its kind cancer statistics for the NWT.

Currently the Canadian Cancer Society releases projections for the 10 provinces on the number of new cases expected, and a breakdown by gender on the types of cancer and death rates likely to occur in the population.

The three territories are purposely excluded from the detailed analysis by gender and type of cancer, due to their small populations, according to Michael Craig, media relations co-ordinator for the society.

"We don't release details on cancer type because we are trying to protect patient confidentiality," said Craig.

For instance, the latest estimates for 2002 predicted 95 new cases of cancer will occur in the NWT. When compared to 52,400 cases likely to occur in Ontario, the NWT numbers tend to pose problems.

"Releasing numbers within a territory your size could deter people from getting tested," Craig said. "If, for example, we predict two women will develop breast cancer, and you know two women who just got it, you might not think you are at risk."

Andre Corriveau, NWT's chief medical officer of health disagrees.

"The community needs to know. We have been trying for years to persuade the cancer society to release the breakdown by cancer type," Corriveau said. "They were not willing to do the extra work, so we did it ourselves."

The report, which is due out this summer, will document cancer statistics since 1991, from the inception of the territory's cancer registry. It will give data by region, ethnicity, type of cancer and recommendations for prevention of risk-factors.

Corriveau is also convinced that NWT's cancer data is more reliable than other areas.

"Large provinces have a more complex system of tracking disease. We have fewer places to get tested so it is harder for cases to be missed," Corriveau said.

Between the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Stanton Hospital, mobile mammography testing throughout the communities, and year-round access to pap smear tests, Corriveau said the data collected is reliable. The latest cancer statistics released by the Canadian Cancer Society for 2002 predict there will be approximately 95 new cases of cancer and 40 deaths from the disease across the NWT in 2002. Of those cases, about 40 women and 50 men are estimated to be diagnosed.

Each year the department issues a report on a specific health concern. Last April, Smoke Alarm, a 38-page report on smoking in the NWT, identified the disease as an acute health concern.